Updated

A statement by the Gulf Cooperation Council says the bloc has agreed on the mechanisms to implement a security pact, marking a possible first step toward bridging deep rifts among its six energy-rich Arab states.

Qatar's official news agency says Doha's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah took part at in the GCC Foreign Ministers meeting held in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh. The GCC statement was released after the meeting late Thursday.

The visit marked his first trip to Saudi Arabia since the kingdom, along with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar in an unprecedented public protest spurned by Doha's support for the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group in the region.

The statement did not say whether ambassadors would be reinstated.